It also contains a MIDI-to-controlled voltage converterthat can be used to control the Mother-32,or to send out to other modular synthesizer gear.And finally, the Mother-32 hasa really capable step sequencer.You can save up to 64 sequencesthat are one to 32 steps in length.What's made the Mother-32 so popularis that this is the gateway for manyinto a full-blown modular synthesizer.Now, if you're new to modular synths,they can be a little bit daunting.You have to build your own collection of modules.

You need to connect them together yourselfevery time you want to make a sound,and that can be a lot to learn.Whereas, with a semimodular synth like the Mother-32,everything you need to get started is behind one panel.It's already been wired together for youso it makes most of the common synthesizer soundsright out of the box,and it also has this patch panel.That allows you to override the internal wiringto come up with some alternate wiringsand some alternate sounds, and more importantly,this is the gateway to connect it to other modules.

Other oscillators, filters, envelope generators,modules beyond your wildest imaginationto expand the capabilities of the Moog Mother-32.This course is divided into roughly three sections.First, I'm going to show you how to usethe synthesizer inside the Mother-32.You'll learn all about the oscillator, its filter,and also its modulation sources,the LFO and the envelope generator.Then I'll dive into its powerful step sequencer,because it has a lot of additional features,including note duration, accents, glides,holds, rests, and even ratcheting,where one note can repeat multiple times for a given step.

Then we'll get to my favorite part of the course,taking the Mother-32 out of its case,and putting it into a Eurorack format modular synth case.I'll show you how to connect up the power,what you need to do to get sound out of it,what important glue modules you need to add,including attenuators, mixers, and multiples,and I'll also go through connectingyour first two extension modules,an additional envelope generator, and a second oscillator.My goal in this course is to take someonewho's relatively new to synthesizers like the Mother-32,make you comfortable using it, and most importantly,get you over that tall first stepinto the world of modular synthesizers.

So, let's have some fun, and let's gotake a nice trip togetherinto the land of modular synthesis.

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Released

4/3/2017

The Moog Mother-32 is a very popular starter instrument for those looking to get into modular synthesis. It contains a capable one-oscillator synthesizer voice with a Moog design filter, as well as surprisingly full-featured step sequencer. Best of all, it's a semimodular synth in that all of its components are already wired together and able to create sounds right out of the box. But it also contains a Patch panel, allowing you to override its internal wiring as well as connect it to external synthesizer modules. Synth designer Chris Meyer gives you a quick-start introduction to all three of these sections of the Moog Mother-32, including how to mount the Mother-32 into a Eurorack-format case, plus important advice on the first external modules you might want to add to it.

Topics include:

Connecting the Mother-32, as well as relocating it to an open-ended modular cabinet

Crafting your own sounds using its synthesis engine, including learning the differences between oscillator and modulator waveshapes, filter modes, and envelope types